Original subtitles

Go, go, go, go!

Your wife is stable and recovering.

And the child?

You have a healthy baby girl.

A girl?

Yes.

- Are you sure? - Of course.

Have you decided on a name?

I told my wife that was a mistake.

I'm sorry?

That we would jinx the birth by choosing a boy's name before...

The child's name is Lu.

How's it looking?

You ask the blind guy how it's looking?

Not your best joke, Emma.

- I didn't mean it like... - She meant, how's it feeling?

Eh, no, it doesn't feel good.

Feels like a car engine about to go "ka-chunk".

Three weeks. Just keep it running three more weeks,

and we'll have a brand-new water system waiting for us on Mars.

- Why would you say that? - Excuse me?

Pegasus doesn't even land for another hour,

and you're just assuming it's safely on the ground.

- No, I wasn't assuming... - You're gonna jinx it.

No one's jinxing anything.

Quite frankly, all I've been thinking about for weeks now

is that freighter ship waiting for us when we land.

Can you imagine? No more water rations.

Oh. Sorry, Lu. I didn't mean to...

It's all right.

I'm actually fantasizing my first cup of tea.

And enough hot water for some coffee.

Enough water for my plants to come back to life.

Personally, I'm looking forward to a long, hot shower.

I think we're all looking forward to you having a hot shower.

And what of you, Commander?

What are you looking forward to?

Oh, she is not looking forward to anything.

What the hell, Lu?

You made it very clear that you didn't wanna be here.

That you only wish you were home.

Lex, it's breakfast!

Coming!

Dad, how am I gonna eat all of this?

Melissa and Cassie are supposed to be here in, like, five minutes.

Well, you can take it in the car. There's enough for them too.

It's an important day for your mom, and you know this is tradition.

Yeah, but it's not like she's launching.

Pegasus landing can be just as stressful as a launch.

And you need to eat if you're feeling jittery.

All right? You need to be full, grounded.

Yeah, okay.

Tell that to the entire school if they see me puking at assembly.

Yes, the whole school will be sitting in the gym

watching NASA's live feed.

If you're worried about me seeing Isaac, don't be.

- What does that mean? - Nothing.

We just haven't been talking much lately.

Since when?

Since the accident, I guess.

- I thought you'd be happy. - Why would I be happy?

Dad...

... you wanted to kill him after I got hurt.

Yeah, I was scared out of my mind, Lex.

You could have broken your neck.

Look, I don't want you to end up like...

Um...

I still might.

What?

End up like you.

If I carry the gene.

Have you been thinking about this a lot?

No.

I don't know.

Uh...

I should go. I don't wanna make Cassie late.

Sweetie, we can talk about this.

Can we please just focus on Mom?

You know, one... nerve-wracking thing at a time. Okay?

All right, people. Let's make a little more history.

Public feed is going live...

now.

Jack, you have the conn.

Good morning, everyone.

Thank you for joining us here on this momentous day

at the Johnson Space Center.

We are 21 minutes away from entry interface,

good for touchdown on the Martian surface at 9:54:15 Central.

Pegasus is carrying most of the supplies

that the crew will need to set up camp on Mars,

including their new water and life-support systems...

Why didn't they bring that stuff with them?

Uh, it's too heavy, hon.

So they sent a different rocket that's landing today,

and then Emma will land Atlas right next to it.

All their things will be waiting for them there,

just like a... a big present on Christmas morning.

I bet your mom is so excited. Are you excited?

Totally.

Our friends at JPL sometimes call the perilous descent to Mars

"seven minutes of terror".

Stand by on an update from Jack.

Seems a bit cruel, doesn't it?

We're a hundred times closer to Pegasus than Mission Control,

yet they get to learn its fate before we do.

Well, if it's of any consolation, when we land on Mars,

we'll know our fate before them.

Okay, wait. Here we go.

All systems looking good.

Pegasus on course for entry interface in 21 minutes.

And of course, it would have taken roughly 20 minutes

for us to receive that message, so in reality...

Pegasus is about to enter the atmosphere.

What would you say is the most likely thing

that could go wrong here?

I know a lot of people would say angle of entry.

Pegasus comes in one degree too shallow,

it'll skip right off the atmosphere.

But...

I gotta go with parachute deployment.

That puppy opens a split-second too late and...

poof.

Freddie...

You're thinking heat shield malfunction?

I'm thinking we watch this in silence.

Oh. Speaking of...

Plasma blackout is likely during peak heating,

and we could lose radio contact for up to two minutes.

Radio contact has been interrupted, as expected.

Hold for two minutes.

Hopefully, any second now.

Radio Science, have you regained contact with Pegasus?

Negative. Please stand by.

Copy that. Standing by.

- It's been two minutes. - Yeah, I know, hon.

They said they'd hear in two minutes.

I know.

- What does this mean? - Nothing yet.

Try them again.

- Radio Science? - Please stand by.

Come on, God damn it.

Houston, Radio Science. Do you copy?

Copy that. Tell us you have a signal.

That's a negative, Houston.

Radio Science, say again.

All communication with Pegasus has been lost.

I repeat, all communication with Pegasus has been lost.

That means it just landed, right?

If everything went according to plan,

then yes, Pegasus just touched down on Mars.

All right.

Let's hope everyone in Houston is cracking open champagne.

Let's run... Let's run another diagnostic.

We should all meet in the conference room as soon as possible. No...

- Dad? - It's gonna be okay, Lex.

But what if Pegasus really is gone?

- What if it blew up? - We don't know that's what...

Isn't that the stuff they need to live on Mars?

There's always a backup plan, okay?

And they can land and live on Atlas if they have to.

But you said they're already on the backup water system.

And that system's still working. They can continue on rations.

For how long?

And why didn't they send Pegasus a year ago?

They couldn't leave it in the dust and storms,

and there's already another Pegasus on the way.

Not for months.

They can make it that long if they have to.

But again, we don't know yet...

Exactly.

We don't know anything.

We don't know if Pegasus is sitting on the ground

or exploded into pieces,

or if the backup system is even going to last,

or if Mom's gonna survive.

Commander?

Emma?

"Signal uplink unsuccessful.

Attempting reboot. Please stand by".

Uh, let's not get ahead.

All we know right now is the signal was lost,

but there's a hundred engineers in Houston

working right now to get it back online.

- They won't. - Come on. Let's...

let's just let them do their job.

Emma,

I... I appreciate what you're trying to do here,

but let's be honest, you know as well as I do

when a plane goes off radar,

that pilot isn't coming home.

Don't cry, Kwesi.

We can't spare water on tears.

Let's... let's talk water.

If Pegasus really is lost, we know the contingency.

We land on Mars,

and we live on the Atlas until the next freighter arrives.

Well, that's not for another five months.

Misha, I know you said it was a miracle

if the backup lasted more than three and a half weeks,

- but is there any... - Very unlikely.

But that's not even our biggest problem.

What are you talking about?

Let's say backup makes it that long,

which it won't, but let's say it does.

Even if we move to the most extreme rations,

we still consume more water than the backup can recycle.

Sooner than later,

we run out of water.

- How soon? - What's the best-case scenario?

Eight...

... ten weeks.

Which means we'll die of thirst

two months before the next freighter arrives.

Our attempts thus far to reboot the system have been unsuccessful.

We're not giving up, but we have to move forward

assuming Pegasus is lost and discuss next steps.

Nothing to discuss.

They land and live on Atlas.

Their water system isn't gonna last that long.

And whose fault is that? If your commander hadn't...

No. Wait a minute. You're gonna point fingers now?

- ... system and insisted on backup... - After your cosmonaut

lied about his vision? Really?

Is there no way to get a visual

and see if Pegasus landed?

What about using one of the rovers?

Not a chance. The nearest rover

is over 1,000 miles from the landing site.

She says nothing has changed.

The primary objective of this mission

has always been to land a crew on Mars.

And return them safely home.

- That's no longer an option. - Yes, it is.

Best-case scenario, they got ten weeks' worth of water, right?

If that, and the next freighter doesn't land on Mars for 20.

- But they're not gonna meet on Mars. - What?

- Can I borrow your tablet? - Yeah, of course.

So, right now, Pegasus 2 is roughly here,

but if we slingshot Atlas around Mars...

Atlas gets a gravitational assist from Mars.

Picking up speed

and meeting with Pegasus 2 in...

I'd have to do the math, but it's definitely under ten weeks.

You're suggesting Atlas and Pegasus 2 dock in transit?

Both vehicles have docking capabilities.

There's no reason why they can't.

The reason is they'd be flying at each other

at 32,000 kilometers an hour.

You're talking about a crew with no sleep, on minimal rations,

doing an impossibly complex task.

I'm talking about getting our crew back alive.

Without ever landing on Mars.

We had an agreement.

Our great taikonaut will be the first human

to set foot on the Red Planet.

Circumstances have changed.

You really want the first humans on Mars

digging their own graves there?

I would rather she die a hero on Mars

than return home a coward.

Dear Father...

I am hoping Mother will read you this message.

I know that sometimes you can get confused.

Delete "I know that sometimes you can get confused".

Dear Father...

perhaps you have heard the news

about our freighter ship by now.

Another spaceship is on its way.

I think...

And I wanted to assure you that...

And I wanted to assure you that...

... we are still on course to land in three weeks.

Your daughter will be the first person

to set foot on Mars.

Something no man has ever done before.

Respectfully yours,

Wang Lu.

Hey.

Hey. Lex, where are you?

I'm at Melissa's.

Did you see what happened?

Do they know for sure that Pegasus is gone?

They don't know anything for sure,

but most likely it blew up entering the atmosphere.

Could you come here?

What? You mean, like, now?

To Melissa's?

I'm really freaking out.

Melissa said she would kill me at the hospital.

She didn't mean that.

You've been really weird to me since the accident.

It really messed me up.

My accident messed you up?

I just keep thinking about how ashamed my dad would be

that I put someone without a driver's license on a bike.

You didn't put me on that bike.

What are you trying to say, Isaac?

I don't know.

Maybe we should just chill for a bit,

until things calm down.

Yeah. Okay, whatever.

- Uh, Lex... - No, I...

I have too many unknowns in my life right now.

The hardest part is not knowing. You know?

I hope she's okay.

You okay?

Was that your dad again?

No, it was Isaac.

He says he wants to chill.

Whatever that means.

I should have killed him when I had the chance.

Mom!

I just...

feel like my life is this big mystery right now.

I don't know if my mom's gonna be okay.

I don't know if my dad will ever walk again.

I don't know if Isaac will ever talk to me again.

And I really, really liked him.

Oh, sweetie. Come here.

I'm sorry.

But there is one answer I could get.

Okay, that's good.

You need an answer, let's get you an answer.

My dad's not gonna like it.

Well, what is it?

All efforts to reestablish contact with Pegasus

have been unsuccessful.

However,

Ground has come up with a way for Pegasus 2 to reach us

within the ten-week window.

- How's that possible? - It's not.

Unless Pegasus 2 has secret nuclear boosters,

in which case...

fire them up, baby!

No, that's not what she's saying.

They're sending us home.

What?

Ground is recommending we slingshot around Mars

and dock with Pegasus 2 in transit.

Ground is recommending or...

Matt is recommending?

- Excuse me? - This was your husband's idea.

- What? No, it wasn't. - He's just like you.

- Willing to undermine the mission... - Lu...

- ... so long as his wife comes home. - That's enough.

I said one time, "I wish I was home",

and I was dehydrated out of my mind when I said it.

And I'll be goddamned if I let my crew die of thirst

when there are other options on the table.

Now, your orders are clear.

You're to assist Misha

while he does everything he can to keep that backup running.

Ram, Kwesi, you're with me in the command module

while we chart out a new flight path for a slingshot home.

For the record,

Matt's not even allowed on the Mission Control floor.

He had nothing to do with this decision.

And it's pathetic

that you'd make this personal and suggest he did.

Hi.

I can only imagine what you're going through up there.

Knowing you as well as I do...

... I bet it's pretty damn complicated.

On one hand...

... I'm sure you're scared out of your mind.

And on the other, you can see Mars right out the window...

... closer than it's ever been.

You can almost see where we would have landed.

See Hellas crater?

Follow me north over Hesperia plains,

just to the west of Elysium Mons.

There.

The edge of Utopia basin.

That's where I would have planted my garden.

I believe Mars was a garden once.

Those canyons didn't just make themselves.

There had to have been great rivers there.

Mars was as rich and full of life as Earth is now.

And if we're not careful,

our planet will look like that someday soon.

Forgive me.

This might sound a little foolish, but...

... I thought that...

if I could bring life back to Mars,

then I could show people that it is not too late to save Earth.

I thought this was God's plan for me.

Surely God's plan wasn't for you to die.

Well... traditionally speaking,

God's a bit unforgiving

when it comes to his disciples sacrificing their lives.

I would have wanted to land on Mars eight months ago,

even if it meant certain death.

It's what I promised my brother.

Is that an update from Ground?

Message from Matt?

Um...

- I'll listen to it later. - No, go on.

- We can handle this. - I appreciate that. But let's...

Commander, we're just plugging in numbers. Go on.

And don't worry.

You can come back and check the flight path coordinates.

You sure?

Yes. He's probably just found out

you're coming home to him alive. Go.

Okay. You two let me know if you need anything.

Did Emma just fly by?

How did you know?

Your entire body went...

You'll have to forgive her, you know?

Why should I?

You've been working with Matt for weeks.

You think I'm wrong that this was his idea?

I don't know.

And frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

How can you say that?

Because I wanna live.

Yeah. Yeah, I know I'm not supposed to admit it.

I am Misha Popov.

Hero Russian cosmonaut. Space is my home.

But I wanna see my grandchildren again.

Maybe...

Maybe have my daughter forgive me before I die.

I, um...

How about you?

You don't wanna see your kid again?

Of course. Yes.

And the woman you love?

Yes.

Then on some level, you're not relieved we're going home?

No.

Why?

Because I didn't come here to fail.

Yeah.

Hammer.

Thank you.

Much better.

I just don't entirely get your method.

My method? What? I... I'm doing diagnostic.

Okay, here. Give me your hand.

Here.

Can you feel that?

Yes or no?

- Oh, sorry. Yes. - Yes. Okay.

So, to make this grumble,

what needs to be happening inside the machine?

I don't need to open it. Right? I... I can feel it.

I can listen to it.

Your doctor, he listens to your heart.

He doesn't open you up, right?

Plumber listens to pipes.

Engineer, same thing.

Eyes are not the only way to see.

Hi.

I can only imagine what you're going through up there.

Knowing you as well as I do...

... I bet it's pretty damn complicated.

On one hand, I'm sure you're scared out of your mind.

And on the other, you can see Mars right out the window...

... closer than it's ever been.

Our life's work. Your life's work.

Life's work of your entire crew...

just within reach.

But I had to get you home.

I've given Ground Control a plan to get you back safely.

I'm sure you've gotten the instructions by now

and are planning your flight path.

Soon you'll be home with Lex...

and me.

What's wrong, Em?

Lu was right.

Yeah, you probably should have figured out the slingshot was my idea.

No, not about that.

When I thought we were gonna die...

When I thought there were no other options left,

all I wanted was to be home...

...with you and Lex.

I failed, Matt.

No, you didn't.

You did not fail.

We're aborting the mission.

You're saving your crew.

Even if they don't wanna be saved?

What do you think would happen if the five of you went to Mars

and, within weeks, died terrible deaths?

You think anyone else ever goes again?

That's it. It's over.

You've shown the world this is possible.

You've gone farther than anyone else has ever gone.

Do you really think we have another shot at getting to Mars?

Next time we'll get it right.

But in the end, this isn't why I did this.

I just couldn't let you die on me.

I love you.

I love you.

And we'll see you real soon.

That should be the last one.

As soon as Emma confirms the coordinates...

... our course is set.

We're going home.

Wait! Wait!

- What? - Hold on!

- What? - Okay.

Pegasus may still be alive,

and Lu knows how to find it.

What are you talking about?

InSight.

We can use InSight to find it.

Lu, everyone on Earth is using whatever insight they have.

No, not that insight. InSight, the old Martian rover.

Technically, it was a lander and probe.

Well, I thought all the rovers were too far away to get a visual.

No, not a visual.

InSight might have heard Pegasus.

Actually, might have felt it, right?

InSight had a seismometer

to measure Martian earthquakes.

That seismometer could detect

the flap of a butterfly's wings in a room.

Why couldn't it register the shock waves

from Pegasus's entry?

From its sonic boom?

- But I thought it went offline years ago. - No, no, no.

Just the satellite used to relay the signal.

Okay, but, uh, how are we gonna hear it?

We are not millions of miles away.

We can listen to it on the UHF,

like a radio station that's come into range.

Right, but if we do hear the sonic boom,

does that mean Pegasus landed intact?

- Not necessarily. - No, that means

Pegasus broke the atmosphere.

Yeah, but, Misha, it could have exploded on impact.

It could have caught fire.

It could have landed a thousand miles off course.

Exactly.

So if we hear no sonic boom, we know Pegasus is gone.

Yeah, either way,

we cannot listen to it without command codes from Ground.

Command codes are issued to commanders.

And to her second.

No. You need to speak to Emma about this.

Well,

at this stage...

Ram,

it's better we come to you.

Hey, Matt?

Can you come out here a sec?

I need to know if I have CCM.

I hadn't even realized how much it's been in the back of my mind.

I know you're afraid.

Afraid that I have it,

and that means that it's your fault, but...

it's not, Dad.

It's no one's fault.

I just need to know.

Okay.

Got it.

Lulochka, um...

... don't let it go to your head,

but this idea of yours about InSight...

Genius. Really.

I got it from watching you.

No, you don't have to say that.

I know you think you're less than you used to be,

but I do not.

Even if you are an idiot

when it comes to your daughter.

Excuse me?

Always asking for forgiveness.

Okay. What's your idea, genius?

Tell her...

she makes you proud.

That's all she wants to hear.

We received a message from Lu today.

A message. From Lu.

Who?

Our daughter.

Whose daughter?

- I don't have a daughter. - Okay.

What are you talking about?

Whose daughter?

No one's. Take a breath.

What about the radio frequency?

I have that memorized.

You memorized the frequency for InSight?

I've always had a fondness for the robots on Mars.

When I was young,

my father gave me a book on the first rover.

In his mind, he's teaching me science.

In reality, I would read about Sojourner

and imagine I was up there with it,

watching a sunset that's blue instead of red.

There.

We're ready.

What the hell's going on here?

Emma, Lu came up with a brilliant idea

to use InSight to detect if Pegasus landed.

- InSight? - The old probe.

I mean, it's got a working seismometer, so...

Well, in theory...

It could detect if there was a sonic boom.

Exactly.

But you wouldn't even be able to activate it without...

You went to Ram for the codes.

Lu, I expect this from you right now,

but... Misha?

- Kwesi? - Commander, I'm sorry,

but I knew you wouldn't risk the life of your crew,

even if we wished for it to be risked.

And you...

I have to say, this stings the most coming from you.

But, Emma, it wasn't just once.

What?

You told me yourself, in private, that...

... you wish you'd gone home.

And we probably still will.

If there's no sonic boom, there is no Pegasus,

we're going home, just like Emma said.

And if there is a sonic boom?

Then we go to Mars.

Oh, I get that you wanna go to Mars even if it means certain death.

What I want...

is my commander to lead.

I am leading,

and if Ground tells us that a sonic boom

means that there's even a decent chance

that Pegasus is down there intact,

then hell yes!

Full speed ahead.

But we all know they're not gonna say that.

They're gonna say exactly what you said, Ram,

that if a plane disappears from radar,

its pilot isn't coming home.

And the only thing a sonic boom gives us

is a very faint and dangerous hope.

And that's all this mission is.

Lu...

And when did you forget that?

Where is the woman...

who stood on the Moon

and asked the whole world to believe in impossible things?

Who leapt off the side of a spaceship

with nothing to cling to... but hope?

Who went into her crewmate's room when he was sick,

and stood outside of my door

and told me it was okay to love?

Hope has never been my North Star.

Honor,

discipline,

duty.

Never hope.

Until I met you.

You...

Emma,

I don't wanna die.

I really don't.

But I'm willing to die

for hope.

Turn it on.

Right, it was scheduled to land at 9:54 Houston time,

and we lost contact at 9:48.

There's the seismometer feed. Nothing so far.

- Holy shit. - That was it.

- That... that has to be it. - Go again.

Shh. Shh.

It broke the atmosphere.

There would be no boom if it had bounced off.

Again.

It didn't blow apart.

There would be more than one boom.

Play it again.

Hey, guys.

Um...

It's been a really big day.

Lex,

I am so proud of you for facing your fears.

And having the courage to...

tell your dad what you need.

Now, um...

Now we wait.

But I have... no doubt that whatever comes next,

we can take it on together...

... as a family.

And I know this because...

... today I was reminded what got me here.

It's the same thing I saw in you, Matt...

... that made me know...

...you are my soulmate.

It's the same thing that makes you the person you are, Lex.

Brave enough to get that test.

Hope.

Hope made us the people we are.

People who can chart voyages to the Moon...

and walk amidst the stars.

People who might inspire others to cure cancer

and CCM,

and end wars and...

... all the other things we wish we could change

in this crazy, crazy world.

Because the thought,

the mere possibility,

the hope that we might succeed is enough for us to keep trying.

Matt.

Matt, my love.

I want you to hear what we heard today

when we woke up InSight.

You see what I'm talking about?

So, we're not coming home yet.

We will, soon.

But first, we're going to Mars.